Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(27)

Father of Two

Shot by Deputy

by

Marliss Shackleford

“Father of Two Shot by Deputy,” Joanna thought. Why not “Armed Gunman”? But the answer to that was clear enough, and most likely the article would be more of the same. Armed or not, the father was the victim here, which meant that the deputy was in the wrong.

“I don’t have time to read this right now,” she said, tossing the offending paper in the general neighborhood of her purse. “I need to shower, dress, and get to work.”

By the time she reached the Justice Center, roll call was over. After touching base with Tom Hadlock and bringing him up to date on Armando’s condition, Joanna retreated to her own office, where her first call was to Amy Ruiz. Armando’s condition had been upgraded to serious but stable, with no signs of a developing infection. In addition, Amy’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law had gotten an early start leaving Las Cruces and were due at the hospital any minute. All of that was good news, and Joanna was able to turn to her pile of neglected correspondence and daily routine matters with a happier heart.

Much later, with her desk finally cleared, she closed the door to her office and read the Bisbee Bee article all the way through:

Leon Hogan, age 29 and a father of two, was gunned down yesterday at his residence in Whetstone by Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Armando Ruiz. Deputy Ruiz had been sent to the home to deliver a no-contact order obtained by Hogan’s estranged wife a day earlier.

Shortly after the document was delivered, a confrontation occurred between the two men which ended in gunfire. Mr. Hogan was declared dead at the scene. Deputy Ruiz, age 31 and the father of three, was airlifted to the trauma unit at Banner–University Medical Center in Tucson, where he underwent emergency surgery. His condition is currently listed as serious.

The officer-involved shooting is currently under investigation by officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” said Madison Hogan. “I was just trying to prevent trouble, not cause it. And my poor kids. They were inside the house when all this happened, and the cops wouldn’t even let me go inside to take care of them.”

Ms. Hogan admitted that the couple was having marital difficulties and living separately. “But we were working on our issues and trying to make things better. Now my poor kids are fatherless.”

Armando Ruiz, originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been a deputy with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department for the past seven years, where, according to Chief Deputy Thomas Hadlock, he has served with distinction.

So far the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department has refrained from making any statements regarding the officer-involved shooting, and Sheriff Joanna Brady herself has been unavailable for comment.

Joanna was livid. I wasn’t unavailable for comment when you stuck your head in my window! she thought savagely. I said “No comment” right out loud, remember? Unsurprisingly, Marliss Shackleford didn’t respond to that query.

Deputy Ruiz and his wife, Amy, a teacher at Carmichael Elementary, along with their three children reside in Sierra Vista.

Mr. Hogan, born in Cody, Wyoming, served in the U.S. Army and did two tours of duty in the Middle East. He was honorably discharged in 2012 while stationed at Fort Huachuca.

The couple had resided in Sierra Vista until Mr. Hogan moved to a separate residence in Whetstone three months ago. For the past three years, he’s been the manager and head mechanic at the local Lube&Oil Tek franchise on Fry Boulevard.

Funeral services for Mr. Hogan are pending. Ms. Hogan has created a GoFundMe account to help pay for her husband’s final expenses.

At that point Joanna wadded up the paper and heaved it across the room in exasperation. Count on Marliss to do a hit job. Yes, Leon Hogan was dead, but Armando Ruiz was in the hospital fighting for his life. Who was going to set up a GoFundMe account for him? And if someone did, would Marliss Shackleford be willing to give that effort a little free publicity as well?

There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Joanna called.

Detective Deb Howell entered, pausing long enough to pick up the discarded newspaper on the way. “I read this, too,” she said. "I’m assuming it belongs in the trash?”

Joanna nodded, and Deb dropped the offending item into a wastebasket situated next to Joanna’s desk.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Leon Hogan was definitely the focus of the piece,” Deb said. “Armando? Not so much.”

Joanna was glad to hear she wasn’t the only one who’d reacted to the article in that fashion. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Jaime just got called to investigate a fatality traffic accident north of Elfrida. Since there are only two of us on duty, we drew straws, and he got the short one. He and Dave Hollicker are working that. In the meantime I’ve been in touch with Casey.”

Joanna held up a cautioning hand. “Is that a good idea?” she asked.

“I’m not here to discuss any details of the Whetstone shooting,” Deb assured. “I’ve been given to understand by any number of people that discussing that case is completely verboten. This is about the kids.”

“And?” Joanna prodded.

“Casey has identified two separate sets of fingerprints on the table knife.”

“Whose are they?”